Stevie describes her early years to an Adelaide reporter

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Petty: Interviewing an idol by: Amber Petty From: The Advertiser November 17, 2011 12:00AM

GETTING to interview rock legend Stevie Nicks was a dream come true, writes Amber Petty.
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INTERVIEWING famous people can sometimes be a double-edged sword because, in the case of the ones who you've always loved and adored, when your big moment arrives, the bubble can burst.

Then you're left with the uncomfortable realisation that they're not quite as nice as you'd hoped - or not during your moment anyway.

So when I was asked recently if I'd like to interview Stevie Nicks, my "yes!" came almost as an out-of-body experience - it was loud, direct and I'm not sure my lips even moved. To put it mildly, I love her.

Oh, where to start? What was she like as a young woman? Before the fame and before the pressure. A lifetime of questions with a 15-minute interview window.

She began by her telling me that back in the '70s she had read a book called Forever Amber and had thought if she'd had a daughter she would call her Amber.

Was I having a candid camera moment here or was this really Stevie Nicks talking about my name? I may possibly combust.

I mentioned that she and Lindsay Buckingham, both aged about 20 and with the world yet to know them, had opened a show for the legendary Janis Joplin. I wanted to know, as she sat side of stage, what went through her young mind as she looked on?

"I had sung along 100 times to Take a Little Piece Of My Heart into my hairbrush - 100 times."

As have I to your songs, Stevie, I thought to myself.

"And so I got to sit on the side of the stage ... the band that went on before Janis had overstayed their time on stage.

"Then Janis Joplin (arrives), unbeknownst to me because I'd never seen her in person, only on her first album cover, and she was all curly hair and feathers, so who knew?

"Out came this girl, who wasn't spectacularly attractive, goes out on the middle of the stage and tells this band to get the &%$# off her stage!"

Young Stevie at this point is looking on, not realising it's Janis Joplin, and she can hear her screaming above the music.

" `Get off my stage', she was yelling. The band, as you can imagine, wound up their set fairly sharply and got off `her' stage."

Stevie continues: "So then 20 minutes later, here comes this girl, who's all feathers and lace, silky bell bottoms, high heels and a little funny hat. I was like `wow, so this is her'.

"And then for the next hour and a half I saw her take hold of that audience and just have them in the palm of her little tiny hand - charismatically take that audience on stage with her."

And what impact did Janis have on what would become the superstar that we know now as Stevie Nicks?

"I learnt from Janis how to really walk on stage with a big attitude. That's what she did.

"She was small and she walked out there and was not going to take no for an answer."

Any other formative experiences courtesy of rock greats?

"The whole other side of the rock equation - we opened for Jimi Hendrix to 75,000 people. Lindsay and I, we're only just 20.

"So we're sitting again on side of stage and Jimi Hendrix comes out and he's drop-dead gorgeous. He's in this white chamois leather, fringed pants and fantastic shirt.

"But he is super humble, very different from Janis. He doesn't walk on that stage with a big attitude - he's incredibly peaceful and appreciative.

"He starts to play that guitar and you're like `OK, so on the other side of having a big strong attitude let's hear it for having a lot of humility also'. So between the two I found my place."

And thanks to the rock gods, Stevie's place is back in Adelaide on November 23 at Acer Arena.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad/p...-1226197318111